• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Become a Premium Member
  • About

Road Bike Rider Cycling Site

Expert road cycling advice, since 2001

  • Pinterest
  • Facebook
  • Bikes & Gear
  • Training & Health
  • Reviews
  • Cycling Ebooks
    • Ebooks Training
    • Ebooks Skills
    • E-Articles Training
    • E-Articles Nutrition
  • Member Area
  • Newsletter

Can I Do One-Leg Pedaling Drills on the Road?

Question: All winter I did one-leg pedaling drills indoors on my trainer. I think they helped and I’d like to continue training this way outdoors. Is it recommended? — Benny P.

Coach Fred Matheny Replies: One-leg pedaling is a great way to increase power and smooth your stroke. It’s best done indoors because it’s safer and you can concentrate fully on the exercise. But outdoors works, too. Here are four tips.

  • To increase safety, use a lightly traveled road without traffic control devices or intersections. Keep speed down by riding up a slight grade or into a headwind.
  • Indoors, one-leg drills are done by unclipping a foot and supporting it on a chair or on the trainer’s frame. Outdoors, hold your foot out to the side, far enough from the bike that you don’t get hit with the free pedal. As you fatigue this becomes more difficult, so be careful.
  • Keep your head up. When you get tired and are concentrating on turning circles with one leg, you’llbe tempted to look down. That’s fine on a trainer but not on the road. Keep your eyes up for safety.
  • Be ready to confuse people. Once when I was training this way, a non-riding friend who was driving by stopped to ask if I needed help. He thought I’d had a mechanical problem and was struggling to get home.

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

Search

Recent Articles

  • Newsletter Issue No. 950
  • Virtual-Based Trainer Racing Notes
  • Elite STERZO SMART Steering Riser Block for Zwift Review
  • UnTapped Salted Cocoa Gel and Waffle – Quick Review

Recent Newsletters

Newsletter Issue No. 950

Newsletter Issue No. 949

Newsletter Issue No. 948

Newsletter Issue No. 947

Newsletter Issue No. 946

Footer

Affiliate Disclosure

Our cycling expert editors and writers choose every product we review. We may earn an affiliate commission if you buy from one of our product links, at no extra cost to you. This income supports our site.

Follow Us

  • Pinterest
  • Facebook
Privacy Policy

Still Haven’t Found What You’re Looking For?

Copyright © 2021 · Magazine Pro on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in